For the Apple fan boys and girls among you, we have a sad announcement to make: Apple, the once industry leader in all things tech innovation matched with cool, died on September 12, 2013. With the release of the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C matched with the newly pushed KitKat marketing efforts of Google Android, Apple’s once secure reign at the top of the tech world has come to an end.
Innovation? Really?
The newly released Apple iPhone models are innovative in one way and one way only: they aren’t. One iPhone release, the 5C, is a repackaged iPhone 5 with the added benefit of custom skins. With multiple colors for skin customization, the iPhone 5C is nothing more than the iPhone 5 dressed up to market to and sell to teenage girls and boys who want a pretty looking device to show their friends. Alright, sorry. The iPhone 5C is nothing more than a pretty device specifically designed to appeal to the superficial tech consumer who knows nothing about tech and everything about wanting to feel cool. We know, that is really harsh yet true. The iPhone 5C is a marketing ploy designed to push product through pretty devices, lower packaging standards, lower prices and stagnate technology.
Innovation? Really?
On the other side of the coin, Apple also released the iPhone 5S. In short, the iPhone 5S is an updated iPhone 5 carrying the tech specs of a better processor, a larger and more refined camera, a slightly slimmer design, faster LTE connections and a touch screen fingerprint sensor which enables fingerprint scanning for opening the device and downloading apps from the Apple App Store. Also, like the cheaper yet “prettier” version of the iPhone 5 (the iPhone 5C), the iPhone 5S has some basic color customization options. That’s all. Whereas once Apple released new versions of the iPhone which immediately blew away the competition, of late the Apple smartphone mobile product releases have been lack luster.
A Quick Side Note: The fingerprint technology is pretty cool. At the moment, its real world uses are limited to opening the device and downloading apps however moving forward, the technology could prove to be a game changer. It could. It could also prove to be nothing more than a marketing gimmick.
The point here being Apple was once, far and away, the league leader in smartphone devices. Their devices were powerful, changed the game and constantly pushed the envelope of cool. This was true however with the rise of Android, Apple has been kicked off the mountaintop.
Welcome to the KitKat Jam
For the Dave Matthews Band fans among you, you will know the band has a song called “KitKat Jam”. The wordless song is a five minute explosion of sound – an exciting and lively piece of music. This is where Android currently sits – exciting and lively. With more global devices than any other platform (Google has shipped nearly 200 million Android devices in 2013 raising the global total to roughly 750 million), more user capabilities and a smart marketing push with the beloved give me a break candy brand, KitKat, it has become clear that Google is making a global effort to push Apple off its perch.
The marketing move to couple with KitKat is dual purpose.
The First: KitKat is the new Android operating system. With improved user capabilities, a higher resolution screen on new devices, a more powerful processor, improved battery life and more powerful built in native resources, KitKat is the next level for Android OS platforms.
The Second: Marketing. Google is making the global push to work with KitKat in an effort to sell Android enabled devices (smartphones and tablets) to the younger generation. The logic of the marketing push is simple: attract a younger customer base when they are impressionable to draw them away from Apple. The younger the consumer base, the more likely they are to stick with the device platform over the long haul. It’s a simple, clear and sweet marketing push.
With the updated Android operating system, new devices slated to roll out, more global devices than any other OS and a marketing effort designed to bring younger customers to the Google Android platform, where does this leave Apple? It leaves Apple needing a break.